1. Field of the Invention
The field of the present invention relates to gaming devices and systems and, more particularly, to secure cashless gaming devices and systems utilizing portable data storage devices such as smartcards.
2. Background
Casinos and gaming establishments have traditionally relied upon coin-operated gaming devices. Such coin-operated gaming devices have a number of drawbacks or limitations. For example, they generally require customers to carry around large numbers of coins, which can be inconvenient or burdensome to customers. Also, the only type of feedback they provide to the machine owner is the raw number of coins played and paid out. Thus, coin-operated gaming devices have no way to track the type of customers using the machines. Such information, if available, could be of significant value to the casinos and gaming establishments.
To increase the convenience to customers, and to make an attempt at tracking game machine use by individual customers, casinos and gaming establishments have for a number of years sought to provide a cashless gaming system, whereby the customers do not have to play the machines using coins and hence need not carry around large quantities of coins. Some proposed systems, for example, allow customers to use gaming establishment credit cards to transfer playing credits to, and retrieve unused credits from, a particular gaming machine. A similar proposed system allows use of a player-carried device such as a magnetic-stripe card to allow customers to use coin-operated game devices by paying a lump sum in lieu of using individual coins. Such a system is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,622.
Yet another proposed approach is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,179,517, which discloses a system in which a credit account for a particular customer is maintained on a portable data carrier commonly known as a “smart card.” A smart card is a device generally in the size and shape of a standard credit card, encapsulating solid-state memory, circuitry for allowing the memory to be read from or written to, and, in certain cards, microprocessor circuitry for performing various programmable functions. Smart cards may be equipped with an interface having electrical contacts which make a physical connection with a smart card reader, or else may be equipped with a radio frequency (RF) interface to allow a smart card reader to interact with the smart card electronic circuitry over an RF communication link. A standard (ISO) protocol has been developed within the smart card industry for communicating between smart cards and smart card readers.
Cashless gaming systems are most often deployed in an environment in which the various gaming devices are all connected to and controlled by a central computer, which serves as the host for a local area network, and such systems are referred to as “on-line” systems. While on-line gaming systems have certain advantages such as centralized control and player tracking capability, they can create a “bottleneck” at the central computer when too many transactions need to be processed due, for example, to the number of on-line gaming devices being played simultaneously. On-line gaming systems are also more expensive than so-called “off-line” gaming devices, which are not directly tied to a host computer or a network. One probable reason that most cashless gaming systems have been developed for on-line (rather than off-line) gaming devices is because of the ability of the central computer to account for changes to the player's account and the machine's payment in/payment out during play, by instantly adjusting accounting data relating to the player and/or the gaming device which is being played. Accurate centralized accounting is highly important, because when machines can be played with coins or with credit (via a cashless technique), the number of coins in and out will not necessarily reflect the total intake or payout of a gaming device. Rather, the influx of cashless “credits” in a gaming device would, in the absence of careful monitoring, cause a discrepancy in the accounting for each gaming device. In an on-line gaming system, each bet and each pay-out is typically run through the central computer, which is thereby able to keep a running account of the monetary balance at each gaming device.
On the other hand, such a capability does not exist with off-line gaming devices, since they are not connected to a central computer. Accounting for off-line machines is usually conducted by manually checking various meters at the gaming device. When the number of off-line machines is large, meter checking can be a long and tedious process. It can also be inconvenient to the casinos or gaming establishments, as it requires that the gaming devices be taken off line for a certain period of time during meter checking activity.
While cashless gaming techniques have been proposed for off-line gaming devices, such techniques are inadequate from a security and accounting standpoint. A major potential security problem is the possibility of theft of cashless data unit (e.g., smart card) readers, particularly by employees of the casinos or gaming establishments. In this regard, it may be noted that a high percentage of casino theft is estimated to be caused by internal company employees. With a stolen data unit reader, an individual can illegally add money in the form of credits to one or more cashless data units. The individual could then “cash out” the amount of credit on the cashless data units, without the casino or gaming establishment being aware that the money was illegally added to the cashless data units. The possibility of such covert action puts casinos and gaming establishments at untoward risk of being bilked of large amounts of money. This possibility is generally not present in an on-line system, which requires all transactions to be processed through the central computer.
Another drawback of conventional off-line gaming devices is that they are generally incapable of providing the same level of accounting and targeted player feedback as on-line gaming systems. With conventional techniques, there is no practical and viable way for casinos and gaming establishments issuing portable data units (such as smart cards) to determine their outstanding liability on a given portable data unit. Also, there is no practical and viable way to obtain accurate, timely and comprehensive information as to the playing habits of individual players, which, as noted, could be of significant value to casinos and gaming establishments.
There is a need for a cashless gaming system particularly well suited for off-line gaming devices. There is further a need for a cashless gaming system which provides increased security for off-line gaming devices. There is further a need for such a cashless gaming system which allows rapid and convenient accounting for off-line gaming devices, and which allows information to be gathered concerning the playing habits of individual players. There is also a need for a cashless gaming system that reduces the probability of bottlenecks occurring at the central computer in an on-line gaming system, and further for such a system which can provide an increased level of security for on-line gaming devices.